Group Home Manager Arrested for Fraud
Release Date
Mar 29, 2023
Contact
Whitney Ray
Phone
850-245-0150
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit today announced the arrest of a Miami-Dade County healthcare worker for billing Medicaid for services never provided. According to the investigation, Ladrica Denise Gibbs falsely claimed to have provided companion services to Medicaid recipients, causing a loss to the state Medicaid program of more than $20,000.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This defendant worked as a manager of a group home and claimed to also provide companion services for Medicaid recipients. She falsely filled out service reports, causing the taxpayer-funded program to lose more than $20,000. My Medicaid fraud investigators uncovered this scheme and now the defendant will face justice.”
According to an MFCU investigation, Gibbs worked as a manager at a group home for disabled adults and allegedly provided life-companion services to some of the Medicaid recipients. However, one of Gibbs’s supposed patients claimed that the defendant never provided care. The investigation concluded that Gibbs caused a loss to Florida Medicaid of more than $20,000 between Aug. 5, 2019, to Feb. 10, 2022.
The defendant is charged with one count of Medicaid provider fraud/filing a false claim, more than $10,000 but less than $50,000, a second-degree felony. The case will be prosecuted by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, 11th Judicial Circuit.
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The Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes providers that intentionally defraud the state’s Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices. Medicaid fraud essentially steals from Florida’s taxpayers. Additionally, the MFCU investigates allegations of patient abuse, neglect, and exploitation in facilities receiving payments under the Medicaid program. From January 2019 to present, Attorney General Moody's MFCU has obtained more than $138 million in settlements and judgments.
The Florida MFCU is funded through a grant totaling $30,219,404 for Federal Fiscal Year 2023, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. The Federal Share of these funds is 75% totaling $22,664,556. The State Matching Share of these funds is 25% totaling $7,554,848, and is funded by Florida.
The Florida MFCU is funded through a grant totaling $30,219,404 for Federal Fiscal Year 2023, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. The Federal Share of these funds is 75% totaling $22,664,556. The State Matching Share of these funds is 25% totaling $7,554,848, and is funded by Florida.